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Monday, November 16, 2015

I am probably bombarding you with all these soup recipes just like I did with lemonade recipes last summer but hey its winter so it is officially the soup season. Today I am going to share with you the most wonderful creamy and delicious tomato soup ever and NO it is not low fat...apologies to all the health fanatics out there but this is not a healthy food blog and I am not sorry for that...hahaha..I mean the goodness of this recipe is so amazing you have to forget about the calories or better yet a good excuse to hit that dusty treadmill again to burn all the calories.

And if you know me well, you know that I am all about super easy, super fast and delicious recipes and all of these components are in this soup. Do you like cream of tomato soup? I personally adore it. So if you are like me, ditch the canned stuff and make this delicious version. I added cheese tortellini to it and it was a full meal in of it self. I decided to all it the 5 minutes soup because it literally takes that long to dump all the ingredients in a pot. Then you have to puree, add milk and cream (and pasta if you decided to do that) and viola your soup is ready. I urge you to try it.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Once winter starts...all the cravings for anything sweet start too. I don't know why but I am sure it has something to do with how warm sweets make you feel. Its about having coffee or tea with a piece of cake, a cookie or even a jam sandwich. And the best part is to use what is in season to make these goodies. Balah (fresh dates before they are dried and ripened), is saturating the Jordanian market these days, so I did buy a huge amount. We love it raw as a great snack (we treat it like a piece of fruit as it is). I made the balah upside down cake and I had some leftover so I decided to make Balah Jam. There are many of forms of this jam, I did see a recipe where it was stuffed with almonds and made into a jam where you eat it as a dessert. The balah stayed whole, no pureeing was done. But for me, I wanted something easy, less work and delicious at the same time so I decided to make my own version that did not require peeling the balah. (If you wish to do that, just choose ripe balah and peeling is easy). For me, I used what I had on hand and made this.

It is so sweet and I added cinnamon to it so it really makes a great spread over toast.

Here is the recipe

Balah Jam

Ingredients:

1 kilo sweet balah, pitted

1/4 kilo sugar (balah is very sweet so you don't need that much sugar)

2 cinnamon sticks

Juice of half a lemon

Directions:

Mix balah and sugar and let them sit over night in the pan where you will cook the jam.

In the morning, put the pot on medium high heat (you should have some liquid which came out of the balah sitting over night). Bring to a boil and stir to ensure that the sugar is dissolved. Add the cinnamon sticks and let it cook over low heat till balah is very soft. Add lemon juice and let it cook for another 5 min. Take off the heat and let it cook a bit.

In a blender, puree the mixture and fill your sterilized jars.

Enjoy.

And to give you a better idea on how to use this, here is my recipe for jam bars, Mabroosheh as we call it in the Middle East. Mabroosheh means grated and the reason it is called this way, its becasue we grate the dough to top the bars and give a nice look to it. Usually I use any kind of jam to fill out the bars but this time I thought of using balah jam for a very warm twist.

Mabroosheh Al balah (Balah Jam bars)

Ingredients:

200 grams butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups flour (if the dough feels too soft add another 1/4 cup)

4 leavened tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup of balah jam (or any jam)

1/2 tsp of cinnamon (this is an addition as I used balah jam, if using strawberry don't use it, but I think this would be nice with apple jam too)

Directions:

Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla, beat well.

Add flour mixture and mix.

Take 2/3 the dough and spread in a greased 9 inch square pan evenly.

Spread the jam on top and try to avoid having jam on the edges as it will burn.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Well...we had a terrible day yesterday where it rained in a very and I mean VERY heavy way for one hour, and the city flooded everywhere...my heart goes out to all who were affected by what happened here in Amman; it is not easy. I know many would think that I am talking non sense and from a spectator's perspective but the truth is that my family experienced a flood in our house back when I was only 16 and it was really bad. We had to evacuate our house at 3 am in order to protect our selves and it didn't take more than 30 minutes after that where the water started coming from every where taking everything it find on the way including taking walls down. The aftermath was even worse, having to clean a house from water and mud. My parents had to throw everything, we needed new clothes, new furniture ..new appliances...new everything...it was a big mess. So my heart goes out to all of you especially the ones who drowned. That is the worse part.

However and on a different note, I have been asked so many times to make Madeleines and share my recipe. Madeleines are basically french butter mini spongy cakes that can come in all sorts of flavors; Vanilla, chocolate, caramel, red velvet, orange, lemon...etc. Today, I am sharing a basic recipe that you can play with so it can become a vanilla one, orange (this is what I flavored mine), lemon, coffee..etc.

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 F or 175 c
Butter and flour the Madeleines baking tins.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt
Beat eggs and sugar for around 7 minutes until you get a thick pale mixture that has doubled in size.
Add vanilla (and any other flavoring you are using like the zest in mine)
Sift flour mixture over the eggs mixture and fold gently in order to keep the air and volume of the mixture. Once in has in cooperated add butter and fold gently.
Fill the mixture in an icing bag to make it easier to fill the Madeleines tins. (yes this recipe needs the special tins)
Fill 2/3 way through and bake for 11-13 minutes till done.
Flip on a cooling rack and let them cool off.
Dust with powdered sugar
Or better yet with orange

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Windy and cold here in Amman, Jordan. I guess it official!!! Winter is here!! I know... I know...I am always talking about my love for summer and my wishes to prolong it as much as possible BUT the one thing I just LOVE about winter is that it is the perfect season for soups. I love soups of all kinds, light, creamy, pureed , chunky, Arabic, western, cheesy...and the list can go on and on. It is the ultimate comfort food to warm your heart and soul in this weather.

Today's recipe was featured in Darna magazine, the first issue (the magazine that I am very proud to be part of its founders). The soup is a hearty chicken and rice soup that is flavored with the one and only Cardamom...this soup is just perfect... a full meal that is literally perfect in this weather. I can only describe the taste as spicy (not hot) and tangy as well due to the addition of lemon juice which really gives a great body and flavor to the overall taste. You can find the recipe here in Darna magazine.

On a quick note and speaking of lemons, I have decided to share some tips with you this months that are a money savors. What does that have to do with lemons? Well, I finally decided to experiment by planting lemon seeds (from some of the lemons that I have been squeezing all summer long making all the lemonades I shared with you ..hahaha). I found some great tips and it worked. Now I am not sure if it will produce lemons eventually but the greenery in my kitchen not to mention the aroma of the great leaves is so worth it. Besides it is a free green plant in your kitchen...now that is a plus alone!!

What I did :
1- I soaked the seeds for a couple of days in water (to help loosen the skin)
2- I planted them on the surface of the soil (far away about 1 inch from each other)
3- I had some small stones placed on top to help the drainage of water to keep them down so they would make roots in the water.
4- I placed it on the kitchen window (sunny but not direct sun)
5- Irrigation is like sprinkles of water every day.

Now after a couple of months...this is my plant :)

I am not trying this with Tangerines...same method and I will update you how it goes.

So this is the first tip of this month..grow your own free lemon tree.

Monday, November 2, 2015

I love Labaneh!!! If you don't know what Labaneh is, it is that thick yogurt cheese that is so full of body, flavor, tang and deliciousness...I love it so much that we go through a kilo of it every week...I am telling you, this household of mine is out of control when it comes to certain foods like Labaneh, rice, coffee and chocolate hahaha... and to add a new item to the list, its mozzarella cheese these days. As the kids and hubby are having pizza sandwiches every single night lately...its crazy!!! Will be sharing the recipe soon.

Back to labaneh, it is a very popular pantry staple here in the Middle East. We have it at breakfast and dinner not to mention in so many forms. There is the regular kind that is nice and creamy usually eaten with a dash of extra virgin olive oil or with za'tar.

And there is the drier texture kind, where the water is drained further and usually made out of sheep milk, to end up with a lovely play dough like labaneh that is formed into balls (it can be flavored with herbs or chilies) and packed in glass jars full of E.V.O.O; a total different flavor from the regular labaneh. Its tangier and full of the goodness of sheep's milk. If you want to make labaneh at home, try my recipe here on How to make homemade labaneh.

Beside eating it just straight up with toasted pita bread, labaneh is now part of so many dishes as it is gaining a popularity in the whole world. When I lived in the US and Canada 10 years ago, I did miss labaneh so much as it was not that popular back then neither did I have access to a good Greek yogurt to make my own. I tried using regular yogurt but the result was not as creamy. I liked sour cream but it was way different and did not come close to labaneh's flavor. Today as I am back here in Jordan, I find my self missing sour cream...hehehehe as it is not very available here but I am hanging in there!

So to make a long story short, I have enjoyed the french onion dip so much back when I was introduced to it in the states and it was available and ready made in the supermarket that I never felt the need to make it at home. But now and here in Jordan, I miss it and I want to get a close flavor to the one in the US without using any artificial or dried soup mixes. So here goes a recipe that I made ...here is the short video..I hope you enjoy it.

Directions:
Fry onions in the 3 Tbsp of oil until they are caramelized, golden brown and tender. Set aside to cool off for a bit.
Mix labaneh with garlic, spices and salt. Add 3/4 the amount of onions and mix. Pour in a serving dish and garnish with the rest of fried onions.
Prepare pita crisps by sprinkling them with oil and baking in the oven at 180 until golden and crispy. Feel free to flavor them with za'tar or any kind of spice (in this case it can be paprika and cumin to compliment the flavor in the labaneh).
Serve and enjoy the healthy crunchy dip.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

It feels like ages since I posted and it has been only few days but I was really on a roll last month so I hate to see my self slacking at the end. The slacking wasn't due to laziness in cooking and taking photos but rather in posting on the blog due to my little one getting sick. Boy do I hate winter due to that!! He tends to get colds once a month...I really hope this winter will be different, do you guys have any suggestions to boost his immunity? I try to give him oranges and other sources of vitamin C with no luck, he hate oranges.

Anyway, let me get down to the first recipe this month and it is one of my favorites. Fish and chips any one?!! I love using fresh fish fillets like Tilapia or sea bass for this recipe in addition to a famous fish in the Gulf called Hamoor in Arabic and Grouper in English. It is so meaty and very appropriate for this dish.

As a child who lived in Dubai for a while, fish was on the table once a week. It is so popular there, so fresh and so affordable. While here in Jordan, it is unfortunate we don't have access to fish as much as we would love to not to mention that it is quite expensive. Don't even ask about shrimps!! So I do miss eating fish. Yes we do have frozen fish fillets but I do hate them, they are not even close in taste to the fresh kind...so please if you don't have access to fresh fish or great quality frozen one, don't bother making the recipe because frozen fish tends to loose texture due to having a high content of water in it. Maybe it is more suitable for a quick sauteing in a frying pan.

And as you all know fish and chips is a very classic British dish. My mom used to make fried fish by dusting the fillets in flour and deep frying them. Well it was very good but didn't have quite the crunch that I was seeking. So I really wanted to make the British version with a Middle Eastern twist with the spices used.

Directions:
Rub fillets gently with lemon juice, zest, flour and spices and let it set in the fridge for an hour
Mix batter ingredients to get a consistency between the pancake and crepe batter (it should not be too runny or too thick)
Heat the oil to a good high temperature. Dip fish fillets in the batter and fry (one fillet at a time or 2 depending on the size of your pan; just don't over crowd the pan)
If you feel that the batter is browning too fast, just reduce the heat to ensure the batter is golden brown and the fish is cooked. It will depend on the size and thickness of the fillets but it is usually about 7 minutes frying. You can test the first one by opening it from the thickest side, if it white and flaky then its done.
Continue with the rest and serve with chips and Tarator (a special tahini sauce with lots of parsley)

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Monday, November 16, 2015

I am probably bombarding you with all these soup recipes just like I did with lemonade recipes last summer but hey its winter so it is officially the soup season. Today I am going to share with you the most wonderful creamy and delicious tomato soup ever and NO it is not low fat...apologies to all the health fanatics out there but this is not a healthy food blog and I am not sorry for that...hahaha..I mean the goodness of this recipe is so amazing you have to forget about the calories or better yet a good excuse to hit that dusty treadmill again to burn all the calories.

And if you know me well, you know that I am all about super easy, super fast and delicious recipes and all of these components are in this soup. Do you like cream of tomato soup? I personally adore it. So if you are like me, ditch the canned stuff and make this delicious version. I added cheese tortellini to it and it was a full meal in of it self. I decided to all it the 5 minutes soup because it literally takes that long to dump all the ingredients in a pot. Then you have to puree, add milk and cream (and pasta if you decided to do that) and viola your soup is ready. I urge you to try it.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Once winter starts...all the cravings for anything sweet start too. I don't know why but I am sure it has something to do with how warm sweets make you feel. Its about having coffee or tea with a piece of cake, a cookie or even a jam sandwich. And the best part is to use what is in season to make these goodies. Balah (fresh dates before they are dried and ripened), is saturating the Jordanian market these days, so I did buy a huge amount. We love it raw as a great snack (we treat it like a piece of fruit as it is). I made the balah upside down cake and I had some leftover so I decided to make Balah Jam. There are many of forms of this jam, I did see a recipe where it was stuffed with almonds and made into a jam where you eat it as a dessert. The balah stayed whole, no pureeing was done. But for me, I wanted something easy, less work and delicious at the same time so I decided to make my own version that did not require peeling the balah. (If you wish to do that, just choose ripe balah and peeling is easy). For me, I used what I had on hand and made this.

It is so sweet and I added cinnamon to it so it really makes a great spread over toast.

Here is the recipe

Balah Jam

Ingredients:

1 kilo sweet balah, pitted

1/4 kilo sugar (balah is very sweet so you don't need that much sugar)

2 cinnamon sticks

Juice of half a lemon

Directions:

Mix balah and sugar and let them sit over night in the pan where you will cook the jam.

In the morning, put the pot on medium high heat (you should have some liquid which came out of the balah sitting over night). Bring to a boil and stir to ensure that the sugar is dissolved. Add the cinnamon sticks and let it cook over low heat till balah is very soft. Add lemon juice and let it cook for another 5 min. Take off the heat and let it cook a bit.

In a blender, puree the mixture and fill your sterilized jars.

Enjoy.

And to give you a better idea on how to use this, here is my recipe for jam bars, Mabroosheh as we call it in the Middle East. Mabroosheh means grated and the reason it is called this way, its becasue we grate the dough to top the bars and give a nice look to it. Usually I use any kind of jam to fill out the bars but this time I thought of using balah jam for a very warm twist.

Mabroosheh Al balah (Balah Jam bars)

Ingredients:

200 grams butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups flour (if the dough feels too soft add another 1/4 cup)

4 leavened tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup of balah jam (or any jam)

1/2 tsp of cinnamon (this is an addition as I used balah jam, if using strawberry don't use it, but I think this would be nice with apple jam too)

Directions:

Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

Mix butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla, beat well.

Add flour mixture and mix.

Take 2/3 the dough and spread in a greased 9 inch square pan evenly.

Spread the jam on top and try to avoid having jam on the edges as it will burn.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Well...we had a terrible day yesterday where it rained in a very and I mean VERY heavy way for one hour, and the city flooded everywhere...my heart goes out to all who were affected by what happened here in Amman; it is not easy. I know many would think that I am talking non sense and from a spectator's perspective but the truth is that my family experienced a flood in our house back when I was only 16 and it was really bad. We had to evacuate our house at 3 am in order to protect our selves and it didn't take more than 30 minutes after that where the water started coming from every where taking everything it find on the way including taking walls down. The aftermath was even worse, having to clean a house from water and mud. My parents had to throw everything, we needed new clothes, new furniture ..new appliances...new everything...it was a big mess. So my heart goes out to all of you especially the ones who drowned. That is the worse part.

However and on a different note, I have been asked so many times to make Madeleines and share my recipe. Madeleines are basically french butter mini spongy cakes that can come in all sorts of flavors; Vanilla, chocolate, caramel, red velvet, orange, lemon...etc. Today, I am sharing a basic recipe that you can play with so it can become a vanilla one, orange (this is what I flavored mine), lemon, coffee..etc.

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 F or 175 c
Butter and flour the Madeleines baking tins.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt
Beat eggs and sugar for around 7 minutes until you get a thick pale mixture that has doubled in size.
Add vanilla (and any other flavoring you are using like the zest in mine)
Sift flour mixture over the eggs mixture and fold gently in order to keep the air and volume of the mixture. Once in has in cooperated add butter and fold gently.
Fill the mixture in an icing bag to make it easier to fill the Madeleines tins. (yes this recipe needs the special tins)
Fill 2/3 way through and bake for 11-13 minutes till done.
Flip on a cooling rack and let them cool off.
Dust with powdered sugar
Or better yet with orange

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Windy and cold here in Amman, Jordan. I guess it official!!! Winter is here!! I know... I know...I am always talking about my love for summer and my wishes to prolong it as much as possible BUT the one thing I just LOVE about winter is that it is the perfect season for soups. I love soups of all kinds, light, creamy, pureed , chunky, Arabic, western, cheesy...and the list can go on and on. It is the ultimate comfort food to warm your heart and soul in this weather.

Today's recipe was featured in Darna magazine, the first issue (the magazine that I am very proud to be part of its founders). The soup is a hearty chicken and rice soup that is flavored with the one and only Cardamom...this soup is just perfect... a full meal that is literally perfect in this weather. I can only describe the taste as spicy (not hot) and tangy as well due to the addition of lemon juice which really gives a great body and flavor to the overall taste. You can find the recipe here in Darna magazine.

On a quick note and speaking of lemons, I have decided to share some tips with you this months that are a money savors. What does that have to do with lemons? Well, I finally decided to experiment by planting lemon seeds (from some of the lemons that I have been squeezing all summer long making all the lemonades I shared with you ..hahaha). I found some great tips and it worked. Now I am not sure if it will produce lemons eventually but the greenery in my kitchen not to mention the aroma of the great leaves is so worth it. Besides it is a free green plant in your kitchen...now that is a plus alone!!

What I did :
1- I soaked the seeds for a couple of days in water (to help loosen the skin)
2- I planted them on the surface of the soil (far away about 1 inch from each other)
3- I had some small stones placed on top to help the drainage of water to keep them down so they would make roots in the water.
4- I placed it on the kitchen window (sunny but not direct sun)
5- Irrigation is like sprinkles of water every day.

Now after a couple of months...this is my plant :)

I am not trying this with Tangerines...same method and I will update you how it goes.

So this is the first tip of this month..grow your own free lemon tree.

Monday, November 2, 2015

I love Labaneh!!! If you don't know what Labaneh is, it is that thick yogurt cheese that is so full of body, flavor, tang and deliciousness...I love it so much that we go through a kilo of it every week...I am telling you, this household of mine is out of control when it comes to certain foods like Labaneh, rice, coffee and chocolate hahaha... and to add a new item to the list, its mozzarella cheese these days. As the kids and hubby are having pizza sandwiches every single night lately...its crazy!!! Will be sharing the recipe soon.

Back to labaneh, it is a very popular pantry staple here in the Middle East. We have it at breakfast and dinner not to mention in so many forms. There is the regular kind that is nice and creamy usually eaten with a dash of extra virgin olive oil or with za'tar.

And there is the drier texture kind, where the water is drained further and usually made out of sheep milk, to end up with a lovely play dough like labaneh that is formed into balls (it can be flavored with herbs or chilies) and packed in glass jars full of E.V.O.O; a total different flavor from the regular labaneh. Its tangier and full of the goodness of sheep's milk. If you want to make labaneh at home, try my recipe here on How to make homemade labaneh.

Beside eating it just straight up with toasted pita bread, labaneh is now part of so many dishes as it is gaining a popularity in the whole world. When I lived in the US and Canada 10 years ago, I did miss labaneh so much as it was not that popular back then neither did I have access to a good Greek yogurt to make my own. I tried using regular yogurt but the result was not as creamy. I liked sour cream but it was way different and did not come close to labaneh's flavor. Today as I am back here in Jordan, I find my self missing sour cream...hehehehe as it is not very available here but I am hanging in there!

So to make a long story short, I have enjoyed the french onion dip so much back when I was introduced to it in the states and it was available and ready made in the supermarket that I never felt the need to make it at home. But now and here in Jordan, I miss it and I want to get a close flavor to the one in the US without using any artificial or dried soup mixes. So here goes a recipe that I made ...here is the short video..I hope you enjoy it.

Directions:
Fry onions in the 3 Tbsp of oil until they are caramelized, golden brown and tender. Set aside to cool off for a bit.
Mix labaneh with garlic, spices and salt. Add 3/4 the amount of onions and mix. Pour in a serving dish and garnish with the rest of fried onions.
Prepare pita crisps by sprinkling them with oil and baking in the oven at 180 until golden and crispy. Feel free to flavor them with za'tar or any kind of spice (in this case it can be paprika and cumin to compliment the flavor in the labaneh).
Serve and enjoy the healthy crunchy dip.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

It feels like ages since I posted and it has been only few days but I was really on a roll last month so I hate to see my self slacking at the end. The slacking wasn't due to laziness in cooking and taking photos but rather in posting on the blog due to my little one getting sick. Boy do I hate winter due to that!! He tends to get colds once a month...I really hope this winter will be different, do you guys have any suggestions to boost his immunity? I try to give him oranges and other sources of vitamin C with no luck, he hate oranges.

Anyway, let me get down to the first recipe this month and it is one of my favorites. Fish and chips any one?!! I love using fresh fish fillets like Tilapia or sea bass for this recipe in addition to a famous fish in the Gulf called Hamoor in Arabic and Grouper in English. It is so meaty and very appropriate for this dish.

As a child who lived in Dubai for a while, fish was on the table once a week. It is so popular there, so fresh and so affordable. While here in Jordan, it is unfortunate we don't have access to fish as much as we would love to not to mention that it is quite expensive. Don't even ask about shrimps!! So I do miss eating fish. Yes we do have frozen fish fillets but I do hate them, they are not even close in taste to the fresh kind...so please if you don't have access to fresh fish or great quality frozen one, don't bother making the recipe because frozen fish tends to loose texture due to having a high content of water in it. Maybe it is more suitable for a quick sauteing in a frying pan.

And as you all know fish and chips is a very classic British dish. My mom used to make fried fish by dusting the fillets in flour and deep frying them. Well it was very good but didn't have quite the crunch that I was seeking. So I really wanted to make the British version with a Middle Eastern twist with the spices used.

Directions:
Rub fillets gently with lemon juice, zest, flour and spices and let it set in the fridge for an hour
Mix batter ingredients to get a consistency between the pancake and crepe batter (it should not be too runny or too thick)
Heat the oil to a good high temperature. Dip fish fillets in the batter and fry (one fillet at a time or 2 depending on the size of your pan; just don't over crowd the pan)
If you feel that the batter is browning too fast, just reduce the heat to ensure the batter is golden brown and the fish is cooked. It will depend on the size and thickness of the fillets but it is usually about 7 minutes frying. You can test the first one by opening it from the thickest side, if it white and flaky then its done.
Continue with the rest and serve with chips and Tarator (a special tahini sauce with lots of parsley)